The social phobia substitute will not dream of the band girl

Higuchi Enka took a step back. She really felt a little disgusted now.

"Just kidding... Well, I'll be leaving now. I wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you for your kindness... and by the way, don't bother looking for me again."

"Hmmm... hm?"

......

...

..

"..Here she is—Isn't that Enka? Looking for Koito? She's free now."

"No, don't bother her studying. I came here today to thank you two. To be honest, I was surprised that my uncle and aunt agreed to Koito's wishes of both attending our high school and becoming an idol."

"Although we have been a little strict with her, it is all for her own good—"

"..Yes, Koito will definitely understand."

"But now that we have that 'guarantee', we certainly don't have to continue with our previous methods. After all, we are parents too, and we definitely want to see our children live a happy and fulfilling life."

"Yes, I think so too. This is really great."

Promise...? What promise? Koito never told us. What happened?

"..Ah, Enka-chan, are you here to play with me!?"

"Koito... No, it just so happens that my mother recently bought some good ingredients, so today I just came to say hello."

"Is that so... Well, thank you, Enka-chan."

"...If time permits, we can gather at the Asakura residence in the next few days. Is that okay?"

"Well, we certainly have no objections... Thanks to 'his' words, we realized that the child had been considering this all along. Koito has long since become an independent adult."

"Hehehe~~..Well, it's a deal, Enka-chan."

What a good drama of a loving father and a filial daughter, and a harmonious family. It's really good.

"Yeah, we have an appointment... I'll remind Asakura, Hina and the others when we get back."

"Oh, they didn't know yet?"

"...It's okay."

Anyway, if it were them, they would probably have nothing to do for the next few days...

January 1th is almost here, and after a short holiday, it's time to get busy again, both at school and with idols.

But why on earth did you choose to become an idol, Tooru?

Come to think of it, they haven’t finished their homework yet, right?

...ha--

My head hurts again... Let me go back and have a good sleep.

......

...

..

"Delta..."

"I'm here."

"Why do people live?"

"I do not know."

I don't know why people live, but from the conversation so far, it seems that you don't really want to live. Although Delta is a combat-specialized maid (?), she is not stupid and certainly knows what to say and what not to say.

"...How about going for a drink—"

"No, Master Ping Xin."

Ah, it's still the same as always, stubborn, Delta~~~~

"...But what should I do about this feeling?"

Is this considered a broken heart? And her words -

There was clearly no feeling of farewell or disgust, but why did just that simple sentence make my heart so turbulent?

This has never happened before...

"Could it be...I really have a fragile heart?"

"..."

No, don’t nod, hey!

Chapter 13: Going out and picking up the drunk bassist

"Come to think of it...I wanted to tell you this when we met before—"

"?"

"When I went to the New Year's shrine, I drew a very bad luck."

"...Isn't this good?"

"Yeah, I think so too. After all, that's a fortune that 'theoretically' doesn't exist. No matter which shrine treats its 'guests', they should have drawn a lucky number... But things like this just make you feel like fate, don't they?"

"..."

"I'm not just making this up... The staff looked through all the lots and realized this one was the most unlucky. It completely conflicted with the other lucky numbers. They asked around but couldn't find the person who put it in. If I hadn't stopped them, maybe we could have figured it out."

"So...what does it say?"

"Um......"

There was a moment of silence. He was hesitating, wondering whether he should say it or not. She could sense it.

"Maybe it's telling me to cherish the person in front of me. Even though it's a bad omen, it seems like there's a turn for the better in terms of love. Not bad, isn't it?"

"...What about the rest of the content?"

After being questioned, the man's expression turned somewhat helpless. He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to hide it in his heart. Because he was very afraid, very afraid of the so-called "fate", afraid of the invisible chain around his neck.

"...It basically means I might disappear from this world. Weird, right?"

It's very strange, but if it's a "very bad omen", this level... seems a bit excessive.

"That's really too much, considering the level of pranks."

Even she would not treat someone who is really worried in a condescending manner at this time.

"That's true... but it's also very curious, isn't it? After all, I have no idea what kind of person or what would happen to make me disappear from this world."

"...murder notice?"

"Haha...sometimes you are quite humorous--" the man said with a smile.

A murder notice?... What an apt term, a murder notice from fate—

Sounds pretty romantic, doesn't it?

"..Where's the wish?"

"Ah, are you asking me what I wished for? Kukuku... Miss Higuchi is finally showing some interest in me? I'm so touched. Now I'll have no regrets even if I die~... Okay, maybe I'm not that open about it, haha."

"......cat?"

"Even I wouldn't wish to turn into a cat... Actually, I don't know what to wish for, but something like 'I hope everyone's wishes come true'? I was dragged to several shrines, but I can't remember exactly."

"...How greedy."

"Really, maybe that's not necessarily the case, but isn't it more important for me to do this with others? After all, I don't even ask people for anything, let alone ask God. ...If there is something I want, I will grasp it in my own hands."

I'm not a god, so even if you look at me like this, I can't fulfill your wish.

"...Besides that, do you really have no wishes?"

"Besides that... let me think—"

The man fell into deep thought. Perhaps he was really thinking carefully this time, at least more than when he visited the shrine and made a wish.

“..Got it!”

After a few minutes of silence, his eyes lighted up again.

"Then I will make a wish, and my wish is for world peace! Love & Peace!!!"

What a strange guy, really...

"...Such a greedy wish, but even if the gods tease you, you can't complain."

"Ah, really...haha, then I'll make it happen with my own hands."

This person is too optimistic.

"...Ms. Higuchi."

"...What."

"If I disappear, then please—"

......

...

..

"Enuka~Enuka~...Time to get up, Koito is here!"

"...I can take care of myself even without you telling me."

Really... he's a strange, hopeless person—

......

...

..

"It's been a day, and brother's still like that?... I see. Please continue to take care of him. Of course, smoking and drinking are prohibited. After all, this is what he told me before, and I want him to maintain his good habits... I see. Please keep an eye on him, Delta."

After hanging up the phone, Asuka Matoki was silent for another long moment. Unlike her plan, her brother had gotten involved prematurely. Could this be the "gravity" he'd mentioned? ... Regardless, the "progress" of the past few days had been pretty good, but why had it suddenly exploded? Relationships were truly complicated.

Leaning back on her office chair, the maid who had been standing at the doorway came over and massaged her head with just the right amount of force to help her relax. Although she couldn't hear the conversation, her attention was focused on it. However, this behavior didn't fundamentally solve the problem.

"...Perhaps it's better to just let nature take its course."

After all, she has never been good at matters of the heart.

And when facing her brother, she couldn't get a single point from him, never.

If there really was such a thing as fate, then she would just leave it to Him. The current situation had completely deviated from her plan, and the chess piece she had laid out had fallen into a very awkward situation. The few people who were supposed to help her now seemed to be mere obstacles. The gain was not worth the loss...

"Forget it, let my brother worry about it himself——"

If he were the one now, he should be able to do it...

No, he would do it, for sure.

......

...

..

"Delta, is it really not possible?"

"...No, and this is the 114th time you've asked me this in the past few days."